Stock market drop a ‘blip’ compared to 2008: financial analyst

A Saskatoon financial analyst is shrugging off comparisons between this week’s stock market drop and the 2008 financial crisis.

Stock markets plummeted more than anytime since October 2008 through the week, as concerns over the global economic impact of the coronavirus spread through financial centres.

Riley Sittler, a chartered financial analyst with Private Wealth Management, told 650 CKOM on Friday that he sees the downfall in the markets as a “blip.”

“It’s a bit of volatility more than it is a doom and gloom 2008 scenario,” he said.

He said the panic on the stock market is due more to short-term economic concerns over the coronavirus, rather than a systemic issue like the one sub-prime mortgages caused in 2008.

“There’s a fear out there that at least in this year, 2020, consumers won’t be spending, leaving their houses, travelling as much,” Sittler said.

He added the slide on the markets has so far only erased recent gains spurred by a strong American economy.

For those who are concerned about their investments, he noted the drops are mostly in equity markets — which often make up only one part of someone’s investment portfolio.

He said areas like private debt and equity have been holding strong through the virus scare.

“With this volatility, it can be a little upsetting,” he said.

“But taking the long-term view on the time horizon of your investments, if you can hang in there things will get better and things are looking okay.”